We felt a little sorry for Ciaran Whelan and Darren Frehill yesterday morning.

In an interview on RTÉ Radio last Saturday, Fr Brian D’Arcy defended his attendance at the recent rally in support of the Quinn family on the grounds of “compassion”, and compared it with his attendance at marches in the 1990s by victims of clerical and State-sponsored abuse.

THE finances of most dioceses around the country are flagging as collections and Mass attendance figures plummet, it has been claimed.

THE music will sound again this month in a remote village dance hall made famous as the Ballroom of Romance by author William Trevor.

THE feature article by Fr Brian D’Arcy on priestly celibacy (Irish Examiner, January 27) was one of the most disingenuous I have ever read on that topic.